Keeping New Hires Engaged

An outdated, clunky onboarding and training process could be impacting your retention

The Challenge

TREW HR was engaged to help a healthcare organization improve its onboarding and training process. The current new hire process was outdated and created significant delays in the onboarding process.  New hires were tasked with printing and scanning important paperwork or having to bring the paperwork with them on their first day of work. Onboarding was taking 3-4 hours on the first day and interfering with the new hires being introduced to their new team and training on their new position. Inundating new hires with paperwork and information overload on the first day can lead to an overwhelming experience, and ultimately give them a bad first impression of the organization.

In addition to an improved onboarding process, there was a need for job-specific training and development within the organization to increase retention and engagement. With many managers being promoted for technical skills, first-time manager training had to take place to understand the responsibilities of managers and the crucial role they play in the employee life cycle.

The Solution

TREW met with management and HR to transition the current physical paperwork process to electronic so employees could complete all new hire paperwork without having to print and scan back to HR. Employees no longer had to meet with HR the first day to elect benefits, review the handbook, and confirm all paperwork had been completed.  New hires could immediately begin engaging with their teams and start the training process.

TREW also researched and implemented a learning management system (LMS) for the company’s required annual compliance training. The goal of using a LMS was to find software in which the onboarding process could be integrated with their existing system to make the process for new hires more efficient, and efficiently track paperwork.

Additionally, TREW met with each department manager to create job-specific training for new and current employees. TREW implemented 30-, 60-, and 90-day performance reviews for managers and their employees to set goals with ongoing progress check-ins.

TREW also created annual performance review templates and trained managers on how to conduct performance reviews with employees. Performance review metrics were defined according to the job description for each employee.

The Results

TREW helped this company streamline their onboarding process.  New hires could begin job training on the first day, and managers could communicate clear expectations of the role and specific goals for success.

With the addition of the new LMS, required annual compliance training is taking place and being reported according to federal requirements.

Job-specific training and ongoing employee development assisted with increased retention and higher engagement within the organization.  Employee’s had positive feedback on the new performance review process and enjoyed defining goals and expectations with their managers.

Organizations with seamless onboarding processes vastly improve their new hire retention rates.  A strong onboarding and training process can help employers win the loyalty and commitment of new hires.